How Companies Can Protect Against Third-Party Risk in 2026
As organizations move deeper into cloud ecosystems, automation, AI integrations, and global supply chains, one truth becomes increasingly clear:
- Your security is only as strong as the least secure partner in your ecosystem.
In 2026, third-party risk is not just an IT concern. It is a business continuity concern, a regulatory concern, and in many industries, a board-level concern. From software vendors and cloud providers to managed services, payment processors, contractors, and niche business tools, every external connection introduces potential exposure.
With supply chain attacks and vendor breaches rising each year, organizations need a modernized and proactive approach.
This guide explains how companies can reduce third-party cyber risk in 2026, including how frameworks like CMMC influence expectations, and the supportive role that partners can play along the way.
Why Third-Party Risk Is Growing in 2026
1. Supply Chain Attacks Continue to Surge
Attackers increasingly target vendors instead of individual organizations. Compromising one trusted provider can give them scalable access to many downstream customers.
Examples include:
- Compromised software updates
- Hijacked vendor credentials
- Manipulated open source packages
- Breached hosting or cloud infrastructure
- AI or machine learning data poisoning incidents
This one-to-many strategy is now the norm.
2. Vendor Ecosystems Are Expanding
Companies rely on:
- More SaaS applications
- More cloud native services
- More outsourced support teams
- More integrations connecting systems and data
Every new dependency increases the potential blast radius of a breach.
3. Regulatory Pressure Is Tightening
Expectations continue to rise across frameworks, including:
- NIST CSF 2.0
- HIPAA
- PCI DSS 4.0
- The FTC Safeguards Rule
- SEC cyber disclosure expectations
- CMMC 2.0 for the defense industrial base
CMMC serves as a foundational compliance model for third-party risk. It requires organizations to vet, monitor, and manage the security posture of subcontractors and service providers. In the DoD ecosystem, third-party oversight is a formal requirement.
How Companies Can Protect Against Third-Party Risk in 2026
1. Start With a Complete Vendor Inventory
You cannot protect what you cannot see.
Organizations often underestimate how many vendors have access to systems or data. Shadow IT, low-cost SaaS tools, managed service providers, and legacy integrations all introduce hidden risk.
Action Steps
- Maintain a centralized and updated vendor inventory
- Classify vendors by criticality and data access
- Track contracts, system integrations, and responsible departments
- Identify which vendors handle regulated data such as HIPAA, PCI, or CUI under CMMC
2. Conduct Risk-Based Vendor Assessments
Not all vendors require the same level of scrutiny. A SaaS app that processes sensitive data poses a higher risk than a non-technical vendor.
Key items to evaluate
- Security certifications such as SOC 2, ISO 27001 or CMMC for DoD contractors
- MFA and identity controls
- Vulnerability management and update cadence
- Incident response capabilities
- Data storage, retention, and encryption practices
- Historical breaches
- External attack surface exposure
This aligns with CMMC flow-down requirements where organizations must ensure that subcontractors meet the appropriate maturity level before handling Controlled Unclassified Information.
3. Integrate Continuous Attack Surface Monitoring
Point-in-time assessments are no longer enough. Vendor risk changes frequently.
Attack surface monitoring helps detect:
- Exposed vendor assets
- Newly identified vulnerabilities
- Certificate or configuration issues
- Unpatched or outdated systems
- Shifts in external risk posture
A supportive note from Sedara: Sedara’s Attack Surface Management platform can detect both internal and external vendor-related exposures, supporting a strong third-party oversight program.
4. Strengthen Access Controls and Least Privilege Models
Many breaches originate from compromised third-party credentials.
Protective measures
- Enforce MFA for all vendor accounts
- Remove standing administrative access
- Require time-bound or just-in-time access
- Apply segmentation and granular permissions
- Audit and remove unused vendor logins regularly
These practices map directly to several CMMC control families, including access control, auditing, and identity management.
5. Include Clear Security Requirements in Contracts
Contracts are powerful tools for managing third-party cyber risk.
What to include
- Required security controls and certifications
- Patch management and update expectations
- Encryption and data handling guidelines
- Notification timelines in case of a breach
- Evidence of annual or semi- annual reviews
- CMMC flow down requirements when applicable
- Procedures for access removal at contract end
This ensures alignment before a vendor is on-boarded.
6. Have a Vendor Incident Response Plan
If a vendor experiences a breach, your organization may still be impacted.
You should establish a process for:
- Determining whether sensitive data was involved
- Coordinating communication with the vendor
- Executing internal containment steps
- Documenting findings for compliance, including HIPAA, SEC, and CMMC reporting
- Notifying customers if needed
A supportive note from Sedara: Sedara helps organizations build or enhance incident response plans that include third-party breach scenarios, an area that is often overlooked.
7. Reassess Vendors Regularly
Vendor risk is not static. Technologies change, leadership changes, internal processes change, and new threats emerge.
A strong program includes:
- Annual reassessments
- Quarterly monitoring for high-risk vendors
- Reviews after any major environment or service change
- Continuous attack surface visibility
This supports compliance expectations across frameworks such as NIST, PCI, and CMMC.
How CMMC Shapes Third-Party Risk in 2026
CMMC 2.0 is transforming how the Defense Industrial Base manages its vendors. Its purpose is to strengthen the security of the DoD supply chain by ensuring consistent cybersecurity maturity levels across contractors.
How CMMC Impacts Vendor Management
- Subcontractors handling CUI must meet the same CMMC level as the prime contractor
- Organizations must document how they assess and monitor vendor controls
- Access controls, auditing, incident response, and asset management must extend to third-party relationships
- Vendors with privileged access must meet MFA, logging, and least privilege requirements
- Incident reporting obligations apply even when the breach occurs through a vendor
CMMC makes third party oversight a formal and auditable responsibility.
Third-party risk is one of the more significant cybersecurity challenges of 2026. As organizations expand their vendor ecosystems, attackers increasingly exploit those relationships.
The companies that stay ahead will:
- Understand their vendor landscape
- Evaluate and monitor risk continuously
- Strengthen identity and access controls
- Build strong contractual expectations
- Prepare for coordinated incident response
- Integrate frameworks like CMMC into their programs
And you do not have to manage this alone.
Sedara partners with organizations to strengthen third-party and supply chain security from discovery and assessment to continuous monitoring and regulatory alignment. Whether you are navigating CMMC, building a vendor risk program, or reducing overall attack surface, we are here to support your team every step of the way.
Preparation Beats Prediction
The cybersecurity challenges of 2026 won’t be solved by chasing trends or adding more tools. They’ll be addressed by organizations that invest in clarity, coordination, and readiness.
Understanding your environment, simplifying operations, and aligning security with business goals will matter far more than any single technology, no matter how advanced.
We Can Help
Sedara can help you get ahead of 2026 risk by closing visibility gaps and improving response readiness. Start with our Assessments to identify internet facing exposure, gaps, and prioritized risk. Then strengthen day to day protection with Managed Security Services for 24x7x365 monitoring, detection, and response.